The present invention relates broadly to a method for identifying cancer or neoplastic tissue in a subject.
The Wilms' Tumor 1 (WT1) gene encodes a transcription factor that is critical to normal urogenital development. However, the role of WT1 in prostatic disease is not known. Decreased expression of WT1 and increased expression IGF-1 receptors have been reported in stromal cells from benign hyperplastic prostate tissue, as compared with stromal cells from normal or malignant prostate. WT1 has been shown to regulate the transcription of several growth factors and growth factor receptors that are implicated in prostatic growth control, specifically, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), insulin-like growth factor (IGF II), the IGF type I receptor (IGFR I), and the androgen receptor.
The WT1 gene product may activate or repress target gene transcription, depending on which of the four isoforms is produced by the cell. The impact of WT1 on target gene transcription is also influenced by cell type and the presence or absence of other proteins that interact with WT1, such as p53, the prostatic apoptosis response protein PAR-4 known as PAWR and CIOA 1 which have been shown to decrease the transcriptional activation of WT1.